Technology | Explorations Media

A New Kind of Heroine @TheHighCalling

Katherine Sarafian (Photo by Deborah Coleman / Pixar.

The protaganist of Disney/Pixar’s newest feature film “Brave” is an unlikely heroine. The Scottish princess confronts and overcomes what she views as a constricted future for her life, but she also learns that her own unfettered dreams can be both limiting and dangerous. The film’s producer Katherine Sarafian identifies with the character and says working on “Brave” taught her to more fully integrate the diverse components of her own life. Sarafian has been withPixar since 1994 and has done production work on blockbusters from “Toy Story” and “A Bug’s Life” to “Monsters, Inc.” and “The Incredibles.” She has also served as director of marketing for the studio. The High Calling talked to Sarafian about what it’s like to work for a company that is notorious for its habit of changing course mid-project, how “Brave’s” protaganist Mirada inspired her, and how her faith informs her work.

Read the interview at TheHighCalling.

Posted on November 19, 2012 by cascheller

Art, Beauty, Christianity, Community, Culture, Ethics, Faith, Family, Leadership, Redemption, Technology, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Art, Beauty, Brave, Christianity, Community, Culture, Entertainment, Ethics, Faith, Family, heroines, Katherine Sarafian, Leadership, Mirada, Pixar, Redemption, storytelling, Technology, TheHighCalling, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Religion + Life with Elaine H. Ecklund, Part 6: Putting It All Together @TheHighCalling

Our five-part series on the work of Laity Leadership Institute Senior Fellow Elaine Howard Ecklund focused on her research into what scientists really think about religion. It’s been a compelling and fascinating series.

In part one of the series, we introduced Ecklund and her work on this topic. We learned that she has also investigated women’s presence in physics, feminist women in the Catholic church, how pediatricians and pediatric oncologists grapple with religion, how new immigrants bring change to Christian churches in America, and how religion shapes the political engagement of immigrant communities. …

Read the whole summary at The High Calling.

Posted on June 16, 2012 by cascheller

Bioethics, Books, Christianity, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Ethics, Faith, Family, Leadership, Medicine, Philosophy, Public Square, Redemption, Social Action, Technology, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Bioethics, Books, Christianity, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Elaine Howard Ecklund, Ethics, evolution, Faith, Family, Laity Leadership Institute, Leadership, Medicine, Philosophy, Public Square, Redemption, Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think, Social Action, stem cell research, Technology, The High Calling, TheHighCalling, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Religion + Life with Elaine H. Ecklund, Part 5: International Attitudes @TheHighCalling

In her book Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think, Laity Leadership Institute Senior Fellow Elaine Howard Ecklund focused exclusively on the views of American scientists at elite universities. Now, with a grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation, Ecklund will spend the next three years exploring how scientists view religion and how religion influences scientists in different national and cultural contexts. She says her Religion Among Scientists in International Context study is the first of its kind, and she’ll work on it in conjunction with two colleagues, Kirstin Matthews and Steven Lewis.

“With seemingly constant developments in the areas of science and religion, these two subjects have taken an important role on the global stage,” Ecklund said. “Our team can think of no better way to discover how the international science community negotiates religion than to go straight to the source and study scientists themselves.”

The notion that science is incompatible with religion and culpable for secularization is a common one, Ecklund explained. It causes tension “on a global scale as scholars argue that religion hinders the progress and acceptance of science in the United States, Europe, and parts of Asia.” …

Read the whole article at The High Calling.

Posted on May 28, 2012 by cascheller

Bioethics, Books, Christianity, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Ethics, Faith, Family, Leadership, Medicine, Philosophy, Public Square, Redemption, Social Action, Technology, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Bioethics, Books, Christianity, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Elaine Howard Ecklund, Ethics, Faith, Family, Laity Leadership Institute, Leadership, Medicine, Philosophy, Public Square, Redemption, religion, Science, Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think, Social Action, Technology, The High Calling, TheHighCalling, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Religion + Life with Elaine H. Ecklund, Part 4: Worshiping Science @TheHighCalling

“There are generally two sides to every lovers’ quarrel and this is true in the argument between theology, once known as the “Queen of the Sciences,” and modern science, now the undisputed king. In two previous articles about Laity Leadership Institute Senior Fellow Elaine Howard Ecklund’s book Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think, we looked at what people of faith sometimes contribute to the impasse. In this article, we’ll briefly consider what role scientists play. The scientists themselves provide clues.

Whether they were Catholic, Evangelical, Jewish, Muslim, or Hindu, believing scientists told Ecklund that they disapproved of an ‘extreme form of scientism that sees science as the only way of gaining access to truth or reality in the world.’

Science, for example, doesn’t provide a rational reason to care for students, they told her, and it doesn’t provide a framework for knowing what to do with their science or how to evaluate its ethics and impact on the world. …”

Read the whole introduction at The High Calling.

Posted on April 28, 2012 by cascheller

Bioethics, Books, Christianity, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Ethics, Faith, Family, Leadership, Medicine, Philosophy, Public Square, Redemption, Social Action, Technology, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Bioethics, Books, Christianity, Community, Culture, Dallas Willard, Democracy, Education, Elaine Howard Ecklund, Ethics, Faith, Family, Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Laity Leadership Institute, Leadership, Medicine, Moral Knowledge, Philosophy, Public Square, Redemption, Scientism, Social Action, Technology, The High Calling, TheHighCalling, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Religion + Life with Elaine H. Ecklund, Part 3: Myth Busting @TheHighCalling

Would it surprise you to learn that only two percent of scientists are evangelical, or are willing to identify as such?

This is what Laity Leadership Institute Senior Fellow Elaine Howard Ecklund found when she surveyed approximately 1700 natural and social scientists at top U.S. research universities and then conducted in-depth interviews with 275 of the survey respondents.

“In the interview portion, it would sometimes come out that folks had beliefs that would be considered evangelical, such as belief in the efficacy of the resurrection and the authority of scripture, but on the survey they would not identify as evangelical when I asked if they identify with a specific religious label,” Ecklund told The High Calling.

She attributes their hesitancy to the “fraught relationship” evangelicalism has had with politics and science in the public sphere.

“It’s very difficult for scientists to align with a specific faith community when they feel it takes a negative stance towards scientific research,” she said. “Those who are not people of faith often have never seen a person of faith who is a committed Christian and an evolutionist, for example. I don’t think that position is very widely talked about, and so it is difficult for scientists to see how it could be a possibility.” …

Read the rest at The High Calling.

Posted on April 14, 2012 by cascheller

Bioethics, Books, Christianity, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Ethics, Faith, Family, Leadership, Medicine, Philosophy, Public Square, Redemption, Social Action, Technology, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Bioethics, Books, Christianity, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Ethics, Faith, Family, Karl Ecklundelaine howard ecklundHoustonImmigrant ReligionimmigrationKorean American Evangelicals: New Models for Civic LifeLaity Leadership InstituteLarge Haldron Collider CERN expirementMedicinepedi, Leadership, Medicine, Philosophy, Public Square, Redemption, Social Action, Technology, The High Calling, TheHighCalling, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Religion + Life with Elaine H. Ecklund, Part 1 @TheHighCalling

“Social scientists are always thinking of big theoretical projects. As a social scientist, I’m very interested in how individuals who are different from the institutions that constrain them bring change to those institutions.” That’s how Laity Leadership Institute Senior Fellow Elaine Howard Ecklund described the underlying theme of her work in a recent interview with The High Calling.

Ecklund’s research thus far has focused on the often contentious areas of religion, immigration, science, and culture. Her 2010 book, Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think, for example, confronted the popular notion that scientists are antagonistic to religion. We’ll study its content in three upcoming articles. …

Read the whole introduction at The High Calling.

Posted on March 18, 2012 by cascheller

Bioethics, Books, Christianity, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Ethics, Faith, Family, Leadership, Medicine, Philosophy, Public Square, Redemption, Social Action, Technology, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Bioethics, Books, Christianity, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Ethics, Faith, Family, Karl Ecklundelaine howard ecklundHoustonImmigrant ReligionimmigrationKorean American Evangelicals: New Models for Civic LifeLaity Leadership InstituteLarge Haldron Collider CERN expirementMedicinepedi, Leadership, Medicine, Philosophy, Public Square, Redemption, Social Action, Technology, The High Calling, TheHighCalling, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Taking Aim at Technology Instead of the Problem @TheHighCalling

What would you do if your teenager posted a note on Facebook essentially calling you a tyrant and saying she’s tired of being your slave? I would be horrified, but since my children were grown before the advent of social media, I really can’t say for sure. One North Carolina dad who faced this situation chose an act of dramatic retaliation that got the attention of more than 28 million people. Tommy Jordan is an internet technology professional who discovered a profanity-laden note posted on his 16-year-old daughter’s facebook page, in which she complained about onerous chores like sweeping and making beds. Because it was her second social media offense, he got so mad that he video-taped himself reading her note aloud and ranting about it. He then shot her laptop with hollow-point bullets and said that if she wants another one, she’ll have to buy it herself. Jordan uploaded this video to YouTube and has since become famous, or infamous, (depending on one’s perspective) for his foray into what some would call “extreme parenting.”

The High Calling talked to Laity Leadership Institute senior fellow and child psychiatrist Allan Josephson, M.D. about the video. Josephson said the reason it has gone viral is because it taps into the frustrations many families in our culture feel. The immediacy of social media is a problem, but the underlying one is more fundamental. …

Read the rest at TheHighCalling.org.

Image by Jenny Huey. Sourced via Wikimedia Commons.

Posted on February 25, 2012 by cascheller

Blogging, Culture, Ethics, Family, Leadership, Psychology, Public Square, Redemption, Technology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

All Josephson, anger, Blogging, Culture, Ethics, facebook, Family, Leadership, M.D., parenting, Privacy, Psychology, Public Square, Redemption, social media, Technology, TheHighCalling, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

What I Wrote This Week @UrbanFaith: February 13 – February 17

On Location at Whitney’s Farewell: What reporting on location at Whitney Houston’s semi-private, gospel-filled funeral taught me about spiritual battles, grace, and celebrity.
Marriage Is for Black People, Too: Ralph Richards Banks’ book ‘Is Marriage for White People?’ made him the target of angry critics. Now, the author has his say about interracial dating, the link between fewer marriages and the crisis in black communities, and his take on conservative scholar Charles Murray’s latest book on class and race.
Obama Birth Control Compromise Take 2: Activist Lisa Sharon Harper and ethicists Cheryl J. Sanders and Charles C. Camosy weigh in on the Obama administration’s contraception mandate accommodation.

Posted on February 19, 2012 by cascheller

Art, Bioethics, Books, Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Ethics, Faith, Family, Friendship, grief, History, Journalism, Leadership, Medicine, Philosophy, Politics, Public Square, Race, Redemption, Science, Social Action, Technology, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Art, Bioethics, Books, Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Entertainment, Ethics, Faith, Family, Friendship, grief, Health Care Reform, History, Is Marriage for White People? Ralph Richard Banks, Journalism, Leadership, Medicine, Obama Contraception compromise, Philosophy, Politics, Public Square, Race, Redemption, Science, Social Action, Technology, Theology, UrbanFaith, UrbanFaith.com, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk, Whitney Houston Funeral

What I Wrote This Week @UrbanFaith: January 9-13

Religion Wins Big; Pastors Protest Loss: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that religious schools can fire ministers and more New York City pastors were arrested while protesting fallout from the court’s decision not to hear a Bronx church’s appeal.
Politics Are Personal: In her new book ‘Left, Right, and Christ,’ Lisa Sharon Harper models a civil and redemptive discussion of divisive political issues. She spoke to UrbanFaith about Christians in the public square, and the dangers of winning political and religious debates but missing the truth.
Pastors Protest School Worship Ban: Some New York City pastors are protesting the Board of Education’s ban on worship in public school space as the ban threatens to spread beyond schools.

Posted on January 15, 2012 by cascheller

Capitalism, Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Ethics, Faith, Family, Friendship, History, Leadership, Politics, Public Square, Race, Redemption, Social Action, Technology, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Bronx Household of Faith vs. New York Board of Education, Capitalism, Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Ethics, Faith, Family, Friendship, Hannah Tabor case, History, Leadership, Left Right & Chris, Lisa Sharon Harper, Politics, Public Square, Race, Redemption, Social Action, Technology, Theology, U.S. Supreme Court, UrbanFaith, UrbanFaith.com, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Lifelong Ocean Grove Resident Takes Helm of Camp Meeting Association @NJShorePatch

Dr. Dale C. Whilden succeeds Scott Rasmussen (who ended his six-year term in mid-October) as president of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. Whilden is a life-long Ocean Grove resident. He has served as an OGCMA Trustee since 1983 and has chaired both the Development and Program committees. Patch Faith & Family columnist Christine A. Scheller interviewed Whilden about his new role.

Christine A. Scheller: How did you come to be involved with the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association (OGCMA)?

Dr. Dale C. Whilden: I came to Ocean Grove when I was three days old right from the hospital. My parents had purchased a home here back in the mid-1940s. In the early 50s when I was born, we lived here year round for a number of years. Dad was principal of the school here in town, then we had to move to Toms River based on a new job he had as county superintendent of schools. We kept our little summer house here, and so for my entire life I’ve been coming to Ocean Grove every summer. Growing up through the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting programs, the childrens’ programs, the youth programs, Bible studies, beach activities, and choral and dramatic events, all those things over the years has led me to a sense of how important OGCMA has been in my life and in our family’s life as well. That history has certainly been a factor in my wanting to be involved.

Then when I graduated from dental school and did a residency at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, I couldn’t imagine not opening my dental practice in Ocean Grove. All those years growing up, it was sort of my Shangri La. I’d go to school in Toms River and we’d be there all winter, and then come summer time, this was the place. This was the epitome of my dream escape and it’s worked out very, very well. I think it gives me a good sense of the community and the history of the community. …

Read the whole interview at Manasquan Patch.

Posted on December 20, 2011 by cascheller

Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, Democracy, Faith, Family, Friendship, History, Leadership, Medicine, Public Square, Redemption, Social Action, Technology, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, Dale C. Whilden, Democracy, Faith, Family, Friendship, History, Leadership, Medicine, NJ Shore Patch, Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, Public Square, Redemption, Social Action, Technology, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Michael Hyatt: A Conversation About Leadership and the Future of Publishing @TheHighCalling

Michael Hyatt is a New York Times best-selling author and leadership expert. He is also board chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the largest Christian publishing company in the world. Hyatt left his position as CEO of Thomas Nelson earlier this year to focus on writing and speaking, and the company is now in negotiations to be purchased by HarperCollins, a subsidiary of media giant News Corp. Hyatt told The High Calling his only involvement with the current sale is in the capacity of board oversight, but a few years ago, he guided Thomas Nelson through the transition from being a publicly traded company to one that is privately held. We spoke to Hyatt about the future of publishing in the digital age and about what it takes to be a good leader. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Read the interview at The High Calling.

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Posted on December 3, 2011 by cascheller

Blogging, Books, Capitalism, Ethics, Faith, Family, Leadership, Technology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Amazon.com, Blogging, Books, Capitalism, Ethics, Faith, Family, Kindle Fire, Leaderhsip, Leadership, Michael Hyatt, News Corp, Technology, TheHighCalling, Thomas Nelson Publishing, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Integrating Faith &Psychiatry: A Summary

Psychiatry and faith offer complimentary insights into the human condition and can help us to lead healthier and more satisfying lives, we learned in our seven-part series with Laity Leadership Institute Senior Fellow, Allan Josephson, M.D. …

To read a summary of those posts, go to The High Calling.

Posted on November 13, 2011 by cascheller

Bioethics, Christianity, Community, Culture, Education, Ethics, Faith, Family, Friendship, Leadership, Medicine, Philosophy, Psychiatry, Psychology, Redemption, Science, Technology, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Allan Josephson, Bioethics, Christianity, Community, Culture, Education, Ethics, Faith, Family, Friendship, Laity Leadership Institute, Leadership, Medicine, Philosophy, Psychiatry, Psychology, Redemption, Science, Spirituality, Technology, The High Calling, TheHighCalling, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk, Worldview

A New Kind of Heroine @TheHighCalling

Michael Hyatt: A Conversation About Leadership and the Future of Publishing @TheHighCalling

Integrating Faith &Psychiatry: A Summary

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